Ayran in the UK: what it is, how to order it, where to find it

What ayran is

Plain yoghurt, water and salt, in roughly two parts yoghurt to one part water, whisked or shaken until smooth and foamy, served very cold. That is all. The best is made from thick, sour, full-fat yoghurt and served with a head of foam; in Anatolia it is churned in a wooden vessel or beaten with a hand mixer until the foam is thick enough to spoon. Some regions add a little dried mint. It is drunk with meals, especially with grilled meat and bread, and it is sold at every kebab counter in Turkey in a sealed cup or from a foaming dispenser. Bottled ayran from Turkish dairies is good; the frothy fresh kind is better.

Why it goes with kebab

Yoghurt cools the pepper and cuts the fat, salt replaces what you sweat in a hot kitchen or summer, and the drink is filling without being sweet. It is the reason Turks do not drink fizzy drinks with kebab. With lahmacun, adana and doner it is close to compulsory. It also takes the edge off çiğ köfte and tantuni, which is why those stalls sell it too.

How to judge it

It should be cold, slightly sour, salted but not salty, and ideally foamy. Ayran that is thin and bland was made with too much water or poor yoghurt. A restaurant that makes its own from a foaming dispenser is taking it seriously; a carton is fine. It should never be sweet.

Where in the UK it is done well

Every Turkish restaurant and café serves it; the ocakbaşı houses and kebab shops of North London often have a foaming dispenser on the counter. The ranking below counts restaurants in our directory whose name signals ayran, which is rare, so the list will be short.